A PLEASANT DAY & A TIRED 'GOODNIGHT'

The person I was to pick up with the mobility van in a neighboring town this morning was a 'no show' so my nice leisurely drive to Stratford Ontario was canceled for the day.

ONE OF THIS WEEK'S SUNRISES.........

Figured I might as well grab a small coffee at McDonald's before heading back & wouldn't you know it, the older drive-thru lady commented on the humid weather as she handed me my change & said, there you go 'dear:))'  Well, to say I drove out of there under a huge cloud of guilt about last night's blog would be an understatement.  Say, you don't suppose she read the blog do you??  Now that would be an awesome thought:))

    

A CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP OUTSIDE THE OLD LOG CABIN AT THE GODERICH MUSEUM

Another mobility van run materialized this afternoon taking me on a great 4 hour cruise through the countryside between a couple of hospital stops. 

A big thanks to Lisa & Bill for having the time & interest to add themselves to our Blog Follower's list.  You are brave people indeed.  With Chuck & Anneke's 150th you have come in as our 151rst followers & completed a final goal for me.  I thank you for that.

I have another 'Crack of Dawn' start tomorrow so that's it for me tonight.  My blogs have become waaaaaaay too long & waaaaaay to involved lately & I think my head, & yours, need a break.....................10-4 

In lieu of Groaners Corner tonight, I leave you with this.................

(Although our name is on this painting it is not ours)

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.

He remembered dying, and that his dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.

When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and his dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?'

'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered. 'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked.

Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.'The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked.

'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.'

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.

After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.

As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

'Excuse me!' he called to the man... 'Do you have any water?'
'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.'

'How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog.

'There should be a bowl by the pump.'
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to his faithful dog.

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked.

'This is Heaven,' he answered.
'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too..'
'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates?  ''Nope. That's hell.'
'Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that," the traveler said.

'No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'

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NOPE, YOU CAN'T MAKE ME SAY........'THAT WORD!!'

OUTSIDE THE 'PARK HOUSE EATERY'

I wheeled an elderly lady in a wheel chair up to the reception counter at one of our local Hospitals this morning, handed the receptionist the ladies health card & awaited instructions as to where to take her.  She made a few entries onto a computer screen, handed me back the health card & said......."you can drop your wife off at the X-ray department first door down the hall on the left, Sir."  Did I mention this was a very elderly lady in the wheel chair!!  And I should also mention the last 5 minutes standing in the washroom staring at myself in the mirror wondering 'what happened' hasn't helped my once youthful ego either!!

MORNING BOAT RIDE ON THE MAITLAND RIVER

I had a few blocks of waiting time between the folks I transported around this morning so all photos in tonight's blog were taken in & around Goderich between wheelchair stops.

THESE TRACKS LEAD TO A.....SALT MINE!!

Ever notice how people say things to you without ever thinking about what they are saying.  And they will say the exact same thing to the person they meet before you or another person in line behind you.  I swung into the McDonald's drive-thru line this morning & ordered up a Burrito & coffee.  When I rolled up to the cashier window she said, "I must be dyslexic this morning."  She was half talking to herself as well as me as she seemed to fumble with a roll of quarters.  I wanted to reach out, put my hand on her shoulder & sincerely say, "thank you so much for an original greeting."  Doesn't it just bug  ya when people say, "Hello, how are you today."  It's a programmed response we all have that comes out as an automatic saying & do most people really care when they say that to a passing stranger.  If they did they would stop & wait for your response.  But they don't & just blow right by & lay the same saying on the next person.  Wouldn't you just like to turn around some time, grab hold of a person & say, "Soooo, you really want to know how I am today do you!!!!"

NICE OF THIS LITTLE SWALLOW TO POSE FOR ME ON A BOATS STURDY BOW ROPE

As I rolled up to the second pick-up window at the same McDonalds another lady fried my brain with the standard high pitched, "Have a nice day."  That decades old worn out insincere saying is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me.  It's another one of those habitual programmed responses that doesn't mean a hill of beans.  That busy window lady couldn't care less if I ate my Burrito backwards or drove over a flock of lost fish worms. 

OUTSIDE 'THE PARK HOUSE'

Have you ever been in the wrong lane at a grocery store & crashed your cart into somebody & have them tell you they're "sorry."  My fault, but they say they're sorry.  What's with that.  I'm the one who should be saying, 'sorry' but of course I never do because the other person has already apologized for my mistake.  No point in two of us standing there trying to out-sorry each other because before long somebody else would come along, bump into us & say......well, you know!!

THIS GODERICH HARBOR TUG TAKES FOLKS FOR RIDES

Rick made mention of a word yesterday in his blog that has been sticking in my craw for the last bunch of years.  When I saw it bugged him too I knew I wasn't the only one & it was time to write about it.  Behind the most used, abused & meaningless word in the English language, which I happen to think is 'SALE,' this other word is in fierce competition for second place if it is not banished from the Kingdom forever.  It has been used to describe a fly walking across a counter, paint drying, any piece of clothing designed since man first walked upright, any picture, photo or painting, regardless of who did it or how absolutely awful it was.  The word has been used with every noun known to man & will go into the history books as the most used adjective of all times.  Some would use the word to describe 'road kill' while others would use it to describe their best friends recent but totally horrible hair do.  Every thing from toenails to nose rings.  Horse radish to Squid lids.  Stuffed bikini's to brain salad soup.  It is a word I absolutely refuse to ever use whether writing it or saying it aloud.  A whole gaggle of stampeding Buffalo couldn't pull that word out of me.  Not even a last minute peanut butter & honey sandwich in front of a Mexican firing squad would entice me to use the word in describing my one ounce of upcoming lead poisoning.  In fact, this word bugs me so much I can't even tell you what it is now because I would have to type it in here & that would very surely cause me to throw up all over my keyboard.  So, I'm just going to let it go & simply say, "don't you just think this last paragraph has been simply...AWESOME!!"

AWWWWWW NUTS!!!!

(the pumpkin pic is not mine...got it on the net)

The humidity has totally knocked the stuffing's out of me again today.  I don't know how Kelly stands it over there at Deer Park.  No A/C in the office & she's generally outside helping people with BBQ problems, getting extra towels for people or fixing this or that, etc.  If I did half the work in this heat she does I would probably be cooling my heels in the local morgue by now.  She takes after her Dad, who despite how gravely ill he is at the moment, just refuses to take it easy. It is just not acceptable to him that he can't be out cutting the lawn or planting beans in his garden or something.  It is just not humanly possible for a person to be as sick as Kelly's Dad & still be alive.  I have never seen or heard of anyone having to endure the absolute cruel tortures of aging as much as this man.  Kelly's Dad is an incredible walking medical miracle.  And yet, something about all that daily suffering this man is enduring just doesn't seem right to me!!  But, that's another whole blog post some time.........................:((

AUTHENTIC LOG CABIN LIBRARY OUTSIDE THE GODERICH MUSEUM

I just got another 'bk or bx' error message when I tried to leave a comment on RICK'S BLOG about taking his Canon off it's auto setting so I will just add a comment here.........Auto settings on camera's generally do a satisfactory job for most people & the quality can be very acceptable.  But, if you want your already reasonably good photos to look better you are simply going to have to take the time to understand a little bit about basic photography before coming off 'auto.'  Just no way around it.  Read & understand your camera manual.  Lighting & composition are two of the biggies.  I see a lot of people's photos in blogs that are OK, but could be a lot better with just a little effort, interest, & understanding of their cameras, photography basics.....and Picasa:))  You just have to decide where your priorities are & how much time & effort you want to put into your blog photos.

Got another early morning start tomorrow whereupon my travels will take me through our wonderful rural countryside again:))

LARGE EARLY MORNING STRAW BALES

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Tales from the Doctors office.........................

Let me tell you about my doctor. He is very good. If you tell him you want a second opinion, he will go out and come in again.
He treated one woman for yellow jaundice for three years before he realized she was Chinese.  While he was talking to me his nurse came in and said, "Doctor, there is a man here who thinks he is invisible." The doctor said, "Tell him I can't see him."

Another time a man came running in the office and yelled, "Doctor, doctor, my son just swallowed a roll of film." The doctor calmly replied, "Let's just wait and see what develops."

One patient came in and said, "Doctor, I have a serious memory problem."  The doctor asked, "When did it start? " The man replied, "When did what start?"

I remember one time I told my doctor I had a ringing in my ears. His  advice: "Don't answer it."

My doctor sure has his share of nut cases. One said to him, "Doctor, I think I'm a bell." The doctor gave him some pills and said,  "Here, take these. If they don't work, give me a ring."

Another guy told the doctor that he thought he was a deck of cards. The doctor simply said,  "Go sit over there. I'll deal with you later."

When I told my doctor I broke my leg in two places, he told me to stop going to those places.  You know, doctors can be so frustrating. You wait a month and a half for an appointment, and he says, "I wish you had come to me sooner."

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

It's not the concept of God I have a problem with.......it's his fan club!!

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

A LONG DRAWN OUT DAY....BUT, IT'S GETTING BETTER

THE MORNING POND ACROSS THE ROAD

I began today's blog about 4 a.m. this morning & re-wrote it again about 11.  By the time I got home late this afternoon & found an email waiting for me from a western friend I knew I had to re-write the post for a third time.  So, here I am, after a poor night's sleep & a long hot humid work day, hanging off the keyboard once again.  But, as any blogger knows, that is all part of this great blogging experience............... and it is A-OK:)) 

HEY RICK, IS THIS TOTALLY COOL OR WHAT.....I'M IN MY WORK VAN THIS AFTERNOON & YEP......THAT'S A FUNCTIONING BLACKBERRY ALRIGHT.....  JUST CALL ME MR. MULTI-TASKINATOR:))

Well, now to the business of Monday night's blog.  I should have added a note to the end of the post stating that I wrote that whole silly thing as a humorous spoof based on a bit of fact.  However, I didn't do that & for some, the blog kind of nosedived into the dumpster.  For others it came off as a silly ranted spoof while yet more are probably still scratching their heads, going......what??. 

WE LIVE IN FARM COUNTRY

It's a chance bloggers like myself take in trying to keep our blogs entertaining, enlightening & definitely different from the norm.  We walk a tad closer to the cliff edge than what might be considered comfortable for most blogging folks & every once & awhile a chunk of that cliff face gives way & we have to do a bit of scrambling to get a foot hold back on the straight & narrow again.....temporarily:)) 

A DEEP SKY OBJECT AS SEEN THROUGH MY TELESCOPE, OR........A LARGE CARP IN A MUDDY CREEK?

Sometimes a post works out the way it was intended & sometimes it just seems to end up in a cornfield somewhere.  So, with that all said now, it's time to move on & have a wee peak over the cliff edge to get an idea of how deep the next precipice is going to be.

TIS THE SEASON FOR SUN FLOWERS

Noticed RETIRED ROD  is over in Colorado's Garden of The God's area & toured that scenic site recently.  I left a comment on Rod's blog this morning about how I became connected to Colorado's Garden of The God's nearly 60 years ago & how that connection still affects me today........"As a small boy I was given one of those View Masters that you could insert a round 3-D disc into. Think they might have had a dozen or more pictures on each one.  I had 5 disc's with it. A Bugs Bunny cartoon, Hopalong Cassidy, & two I don't remember. But, the 5th one was the disc that had the biggest impact & impression on me & planted the very early seed that eventually grew into this whole great RV lifestyle. It was the disc entitled, 'Garden of The Gods.' I remember looking at those beautiful 3-D photos over & over & over, dreaming & longing to go there to that land of beautiful rocks & mountains.   I still have some of those disc images in my mind today, after all these decades."

GUMO  is in an area of Texas that brought back memories for me when he mentioned being at the McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains.  Kelly & I attended a very frosty & memorable Star Party there one night in early January of 2005.  We had just spent some very enjoyable time In Big Bend National Park & were beginning our journey home before stopping at the Observatory.  I would like to return to that Davis Mountain area some day & see all the things we missed in our short overnight stay in a nearby State Park.

BAYFIELD FISHING BOATS ACROSS THE RIVER

Just when I thought we might be turning a cooler corner on this summer's hot weather, the humidity is back today.  Not nice!!  Sounds like I could have another long day tomorrow too but that's OK because I'm just happy to have something to do.  The weather should noticeably begin to turn in a couple weeks & actually I have already noticed a few tell tale signs of the coming Autumn.

A LAKE HURON VIEWPOINT IN BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK

OK, that's it for another post & I have gone back, checked & rechecked to make sure I haven't ruffled any feathers.  No attempts at confusing humor & no questionable opinions for a change.  Nice:))  And ya know, I just might have a good chance of bringing this post in under the radar tonight. D'ya think....................

ALONG THE PATH OF OUR MORNING WALK >>

GROANER'S CORNER  To get away from their high-stress jobs, a couple decided to spend weekends relaxing in their motor home. But after finding their peace and quiet disturbed by well-meaning, but unwelcome visits from other campers, they devised a plan to assure themselves some privacy. Now, when they set up camp, they place this sign on the door of their RV: "Insurance agent. Ask about our term-life package."

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

It's not the concept of God I have a problem with.......it's his fan club!!

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

'SENIOR POWER' & GOOGLE'S PICASA TEAM SAYS HELLO TO RICK & AL:))

DESERT LILY....Tonight's pics are a mish mosh from near Borrego Springs, California

A large cloud shrouded orange orb sat on the eastern horizon this morning visually announcing it's presence with a splay of subdued light across the landscape.  It was sunrise & it was another work day as I headed north towards Goderich, Ontario.  So nice to see a town at that time of morning without it being wrapped in it's cloak of bustling daily activities yet.  Nary a car on the streets & no humanoids on the sidewalks.  Tim Horton's only had 3 cars in the parking lot.  Had the world come to an end the previous night as I slept?  No, just another early morning sleepy little town in  southern Ontario............... Canada.

AN UNKNOWN DESERT FLOWER

Before I get to rambling on & forget again, I would like to thank Dave from Dave's Travel Corner & Chuck & Anneke from GOLDENSHOE RV TRIP for grabbing hold of our Follower's list & swinging up on board with the Bayfield Bunch.  To see 2 new faces on the list at the same time surprised me yesterday.  Nice when that happens:))  Our next  blog follower will sign on as our 150th person & that will mark another blogging milestone for the Bayfield Bunch:))

RELAXING DESERT DAYS

Seems to be a lot of confusion amongst folks on using Picasa's Photo Editing program.  This is unfortunate because it is not a hard program to understand & use.  If it was, I would not be using it.  I think people are tripping over the technology end of the program & becoming way too confused by it.  Get a photo up on your Picasa screen.  Look to the left where you see all the tool buttons & start clicking those buttons to see what happens to your photo & how your picture changes.  Don't worry, you can't screw up your photo because you can always easily backtrack to your original.  Concentrate your time working with these tools & take the time to understand how they work, IF you want your photos to look as good as they possibly can.  I have to use that 'Retouch' tool on a huge number of my photos all the time because I have dust on both my Nikon camera sensors & it's very noticeable in sky or water pictures.  Nikon charges hundreds of dollars to clean those sensors so Picasa has given me an option on how to get around that.  That retouch tool has become one of my best Picasa friends.  Never mind the uploads, downloads, around the corner loads, exports, imports or old ports, files, styles, or upgrade smiles for now.  Most important thing about working with your photos is remembering to 'SAVE' any changes you make to your pics.  Any photos you see in Picasa are automatically saved on your hard drive & most likely in, 'My Pictures.'  I've been using Picasa for about 3 years now & if I can do it, there is nobody out there who can't!!

YEP, THAT LONELY FIGURE OUT THERE IN THE DESERT NEAR BORREGO SPRINGS IS NONE OTHER THAN WANDERING WILLY HIMSELF:))

AL & RICK NEAR BORREGO SPRING, CALIFORNIA....Rick's the good looking guy on the right & I'm the toad like creature on the left:))

BTW.....Both RICK & I have received favorable comments from a member of Google's Picasa team today.  They commented on Rick's blog & then came to my blog from Ricks.  From the early days of starting this blog & using Picasa, our Sitemeter has informed us that someone or something from Mountain View California has been tracking us daily.  Google headquarters are located in Mountain View Ca & it was Brenna from the Picasa team at Google who commented on our blogs.  Thank you Brenna, the nod is much appreciated:))  You can find her comment in a previous post's comment section here..... BRENNA'S COMMENT 

A QUIET EVENING SUN SPLASH ON THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS

Now, this is where I lose Brenna & the Picasa team already because I had already written the following post today & I'm sure the Google gang does not fall under my 'Seniors' idea.  Oh dear.....I'm toast:((

 

FLOWERING CREOSOTE BUSH

There has been a lot of blogger buzz lately about some of the other confusing computer technologies most of us use or attempt to use daily.  Live Writer, Picasa Web Albums, My Pictures Photo Organizing, Cradlepoint Routers,  Shrimp Sauce, Air Cards, Camera makes & models, MiFi, WiFi, Jerry's 50th, I-Pods, I-Max, I-Getting Crazy, Texting, Pizza bones, Ring Tones, Blue Tooth, No Tooth, and the list goes on & on.  Here's what I figure we gotta do.  We gotta get us some 'Senior Power' going!!

 

LATER MET THIS FELLOW WHO WAS BOONDOCKED NEAR US

We Seniors have got to wrestle all this technology stuff away from the Whiz-Bang kids & put it back in the hands of folks who know how to think & design for people & not for profit.  Seniors have the combined wisdom of countless learning years behind them & their morals & principles were groomed in the 40's & 50's when integrity & respect still meant something.  Seniors understand the needs, desires, & requirements of other Seniors.  Whiz-bang kids understand little else other than their video game 'bang-bang kill em dead' mentality Pac Man upbringing.  It's the whiz-bangers who are designing & competing amongst themselves for the one upmanship razzle dazzle world of speed, wizmo gadgetry, multi-tasking midgetry & brain frying quasi loaded mimicry.  In other words, these kids are uncontrollably loose in the proverbial techno pop store & we the Seniors are being herded unceremoniously into the relative obscurity of a 'no brainer' back room. 

I THINK THIS MIGHT BE A PURPLE FINCH OUTSIDE OUR RIG'S WINDOW

Now, in defense of the Whiz-bangers I will say this.  As a whole they are a bunch of pretty darn smart kids but their smartness is lost on & amongst themselves.  Their smarts need to be channeled into & blended nicely with..........Senior technology!!  All these big razzle snort companies need more than fancy lunch time play rooms for staff.  All new ideas & concepts should first come to a panel or multiple panels of, what else.....Seniors.  No idea goes into production without first running the Senior Gauntlet!!

 

THE BAYFIELD DESERT BUMS

We need people with common sense, logic, & downright good horse sense to look at, discuss, banter around, & come up with ways to better improve what might already be thought of as 'un-improvable by the Whiz-Bangers.  We need the wisdom of Senior input into today's technologies.  There has got to be a better way of building a TV remote without 300 teeny weeny tiny little function buttons on it.  And how about one remote instead of half a dozen to run 3 pieces of equipment.  And speaking of those pieces of equipment.....lets go back & put simple volume, bass, & treble knobs on them instead of all this internal Einstein rocketry science which of course requires another separate remote plus 3 years of additional University courses to operate. TV Remote 101!!  DVD, CDR, MP3, LOL, MIFFi, MUFFY & can you spell......B.A.W.W.W.W.W.W.W.  H.U.M.B.U.G.

DOWNTOWN BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

And how about we return to a readable size of print for things instead of downsizing everything from non readable to not existent.  We boomers are one of the largest generations ever to pass through the system so don't you think we should take back the reins from the Whiz-Bang kids & show them what it is like to design things by people...........for ALL people!!  And, whatever happened to the term....'user friendly!!'  Where did that ever go & how was that allowed to get lost so fast.  I think we have too many users & not enough friendly's nowadays!!

BOONDOCKING AT THE CLARK DRY LAKE BED....BORREGO SPRINGS

Oh, don't get me wrong.....I do love all this modern silly willy nilly techno stuff for the most part but I just think we need to get slowed down & improve the quality of what we have.  We need to take the focus off quantity & put it back on the quality issue where it should be.  How much smaller do you really want the keys on your postage stamp cell phone to be!!  And do you really want to watch Lord Of The Rings on a screen matching the size of your thumbnail.  If you do, then don't darn well tell me that you have seen the movie, Lord Of The Rings......because you haven't!!  The Whiz-Bang kids may have the techno savvy but they sure don't got no Senior savvy. (ya ya, I know about the grammar)  It is the Seniors who have the collective brain power to understand how & why to do things right.  Senior Power I tell ya......Senior Power!! 

Oh, & the mandatory age requirement for sitting on that Senior Gauntlet Panel??  Well, let's just say that if your not 50 yet you just ain't a gonna make the cut kid!!  You've got a few years of Seniorizing to put in yet & by the time you get to where we're at, we won't be at where you are, so instead of me sitting here writing this silly blog tonight, it will be you........when you get here someday!!            10-4:))

GROANER'S CORNER:))  It's been a tough year.  Did you know that I ordered a burger at McDonald's and the kid behind the counter asked,  "Can you afford fries with that?"
- CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
- If the bank returns your check marked  "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.

- McDonald's is now selling the 1/4 ouncer.
- Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh Great!!   The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

It's not the concept of God I have a problem with.......it's his fan club!!

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

IT WAS A WORKING SUNDAY

'SURFING'.....BAYFIELD STYLE

It was a working Sunday & my travels took me about an hour & a half north of Bayfield to a little town that was in the Canadian news a lot about 10 years ago.  E-coli contamination had found it's way into WALKERTON'S water supply & 7 townspeople died with many more being very sick. We were living in the old farm house near Fullerton at the time & I remember the big orange & white air ambulance helicopter flying over the house on it's trip's between Walkerton & the hospitals in London.

KELLY ALWAYS HAS LOTS OF COMPUTER HELP IN THE MORNINGS

It's August 1rst already & I am totally amazed at how fast these past 31 days have flown by. A month from today we will be into September & bearing down on the Labor Day week-end. Only one holiday week-end after that & it will be just about time to head for the southwest again.  (got my fingers crossed)

D'YA THINK SILVER GREY IS A POPULAR CAR COLOR....THAT'S OUR SANTA FE ON LEFT....DEER PARK LODGE PARKING LOT

I'm not going to get into a big grumble about this long hot summer sitting at home but let's just say I am still patiently counting the days to when we can get the big wheels rolling again & get the heck out of here!! We still have to switch the towing gear from the Santa Fe to the Jeep & that means we will have to take both cars to London soon. We have had a 'Sterling Road Master' towing set-up for the past 3 years & are quite satisfied with that system. Will probably wait until late September or early October before looking at new Motor Home tires.  That will be one of the last items on our pre-trip list.

CRASHING WAVES ON BAYFIELD'S NORTH PIER

We have now had the Jeep for just over a month & I have a few more observations. I must admit, my feelings were a bit apprehensive when we made the decision to get ourselves a Jeep. We basically knew nothing about them except it was the vehicle of choice among a lot of folks in the southwest. We have no desires for cliff climbing or swamp bogging.  No need to purposely get ourselves into situations where winches, tow trucks or heavy lift helicopters will be required to get us out of situations.   We just wanted a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle to take us further into the deserts & mountains where our little Santa Fe just couldn't go. Many scenic sites can only be accessed by 4 wheel drive vehicles in many parts.

OUTDOORS AT BAYFIELD'S LITTLE INN

Yes, there are lots of other perfectly fine 4 wheel drive vehicles with far more creature comforts than a Jeep, but a Jeep kinda has that same mystique a Harley Davidson motorcycle does. I have had a lot of domestic sleeper vehicles over the past few years & just wanted something that was going to be a fun vehicle to drive for a change.  At this stage, I have far fewer vehicles in my future than I have had in my past.  Just wanted to gently grab hold of the fun tiger's tail again:))  Y'know, this Jeep even sounds more fun.  I've had a lot of off-shore vehicles over the years that sounded like sewing machines going down the road so it's kinda nice to hear a tiny bit of good old North American muffler for a change.

'FIELD OF BEANS'....IF YOU PLANT EM..... THEY WILL COME

The Jeep sure reminds me of my very first car which was a 1961 Volkswagen Beetle. The close proximity of the flat rectangular windshield & the long gearshift are two similarities. The quick & short turning radius coupled with a bumpier ride & small interior brings back 'old bug memories.' I can reach across to the passenger side & roll the window up or down, open the door, or lock it. Same as the Beetle. Smaller exterior surfaces make it much easier to wash plus I have always preferred small vehicles. I was driving Volkswagens when small cars were not in vogue. All the guys were driving around in their big muscle cars & families were booting about in big 4 door dinosaurs & Station Wagons. I loved my little 'bug' & subsequent bugs & now, nearly 50 years later here I am again driving a bouncy funny looking little thing with a long stick shift on the floor & roll up windows.   The removable top reminds me of the sports cars I've had too.  I'm as pleased as punch with this little Jeep & have even got used to the bumpier ride.

GRAND BEND'S BEACH AS SEEN FROM THE PIER

Somebody recently enquired as to what a Mossmagator was.  I use that word in my blogs occasionally & remembered blogging about how that word came about awhile back.  With the help of the search bar on our blog I was able to locate my post from last October & you can read about MOSSMAGATOR here.

STORMY SKIES & ROUGH WATERS OVER BAYFIELD'S PIER

With all the on -going medical & technology advancements I wish they could come up with a simple computer chip that could be inserted into the human brain to take care of memory functions.  How nice would that be to have instant recall.  Maybe they could figure out how to use a persons finger as a mouse & their forehead as a mouse pad.  Close your eyes, blink twice & a computer screen appears in the darkness of your mind just behind your eyeballs somewhere.  Simply scroll your finger across your forehead to check your brain cells for memory files or whatever else you have stored on your super cranium chip.  The possibilities are endless & the advantages are many.  Awwwwww, what a marvelous un-bumbling life we could lead eh:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((

A man appeared before St Peter at the pearly gates. "Have you ever done anything of particular merit?" St Peter asked.
"Well, I can think of one thing," the man offered. "Once, on a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of high-testosterone bikers who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen.
"So, I approached the largest and most heavily-tattooed biker and smacked him on the head, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground." I yelled, "Now, back off biker boy or you'll answer to me!"
St Peter was impressed. "When did this happen?"
"Oh, just a couple of minutes ago."

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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